It may sound silly, but I'm a bit of a vacuum snob, (heaven knows we've had enough in our married lifetime) and very rarely do new vacuums actually 'fit the bill'. Here are a few things that are MUSTS when it comes to the perfect vacuum for our family.

* Long cord

* Super-sucking power

* No crumb-kick-back when vacuuming hardwood floors

* Lightweight (so kids can vacuum the basement, which is one of their chores)

* Compact enough to go under furniture (so I don't have to move it)

* High and low speed

* No hose attachment system (they always break, slow down suction and just get gross)

At this point you're either thinking... "AMEN! I want the same things!" or..."Oookay, this family is way too picky about their vacuum's"

Well... being a self confessed OCD clean freak, I have to admit that our vacuum comes out at LEAST 3 times a week. To me, there is something about a freshly vacuumed house that screams "STRESS RELIEF". I have a really hard time functioning or focusing on much else when my house is a disaster, and knowing that everything is clean enough to actually accommodate a good vacuum job is probably more of the reason that I feel that 'stress' lift off my shoulders.

Is anyone with me here? (I'm starting to feel exposed) ha!

So now that you know all about me and my 'crazy ways', you can imagine how excited I was to actually try out this new Oreck Magnesium vacuum for myself...

Two words. TOTALLY AWESOME!

Really... I never thought I would say this about a vacuum, but I'm completely smitten by how well this little guy works, and he literally passed my "check-list" with flying colors.

Extra long 30ft. cord, to reach almost every corner of my house from just ONE outlet?...

Check!

Super-sucking power, to pick up crumbs, pine-needles and Christmas packaging aftermath, but gentle enough to use on even my nicest rug? And also still have the ability to knock down it's power to a lower speed, with it's Quickswitch two speed function, so that there is no crumb-kick-back on hardwood floors?...

Check, Check!

Yes, I vacuum in bare feet :) And if you understand or know about "crumb-kick-back" on hardwood floors with vacuums, then you will TOTALLY appreciate this feature.

Lightweight, compact, and able to reach those tricky places?

Triple Check!

At only about 7 pounds this baby is by far the lightest vacuum we've ever had. Definitely a whole lot easier to bring up and down the stairs then our last vacuum. And I love that my kids can use it too.

Oh! and remember how I hate the hose attachment ON my vacuum, but I still need one? Well, Oreck has this awesome Ultimate Handheld Vac that is perfect for corners, baseboards, blinds and all those other small jobs around the house.

We have used ours a TON for our latest master bathroom DIY projects. It's super light, at a measly 5lbs and slings right on your shoulder for easy use.

Especially great for sawdust cleanup, when installing new hardware on bathroom cabinets

:)

Alright, so now that I've gushed about how fab these new Oreck products are, and how much WE love them... are YOU ready to win a set for yourself!?

Oreck has generously offered their new Magnesium upright vacuum and Ultimate Handheld Vac combo, as giveaway items to one lucky House of Smiths reader!

That's a $600 + value!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Here's how to enter:

Visit Oreck.com and then come back and leave me a comment letting me know which specific feature you love the MOST about the newest Oreck Magnesium vacuum, and something you learned about it.

Also, through 12/31, if you enter the code KPGIVING at checkout, you can get 15% off your entire order on Oreck.com

When entering giveaways please make sure to leave your email/contact information so that I can get back to you if you're the winner! Please also take a quick minute to subscribe to The House of Smiths blog for lots of inspirational ideas, tutorials and projects! Having awesome readers like YOU is what make all of our great giveaways possible!

Giveaway Rules: This giveaway is open to US {48 contiguous states} RESIDENTS ONLY. You must be 18 years and older to enter. There will be one winner of the Oreck Magnesium Vacuum & Ultimate Hand Vac package. Facebook does not sponsor or endorse this giveaway. Winner will be determined via drawing on random.org. Odds of winning will be dependent upon total number of entries.

Disclosure – I was given the Oreck Magnesium Vacuum with Ultimate Hand Vac to review from Oreck. All opinions stated in this post are entirely my own opinion. Oreck Corporation provided the prize for the sweepstakes but is not the sponsor of the sweepstakes.

I love that is has 2 speeds for different floor types, so I don't have to have to different vacuums. I also love that it can lay flat to go under furniture. I hate moving my furniture. juliebj at gmail dot com

I am so beyond excited about this giveaway! I am somewhat of a vacuum fanatic myself! I was just vacuuming my house this morning thinking I need a new vacuum....but like you I don't just want any ol' vacuum! .....My favorite feature about the new Oreck Magnesium vacuum has got to be that it weighs 7.7lbs!!!! I learned that the HEPA inner bag captures at least 99.97% of particles as small as .3 microns from that air, such as pollen, dust, smoke, animal dander and mold spores! Amazing! Talk about making my house feel super clean!

wow this vacuum sounds absolutely perfect!!! I love that it can pick up crumbs on hardwood floors. I love that it is lightweight. I love that it doesn't have hoses to get junky. I love it all and would love to win!! hlvognetz@yahoo.com

I am so beyond excited about this giveaway! I am somewhat of a vacuum fanatic myself! I was just vacuuming my house this morning thinking I need a new vacuum....but like you I don't just want any ol' vacuum! .....My favorite feature about the new Oreck Magnesium vacuum has got to be that it weighs 7.7lbs!!!! I learned that the HEPA inner bag captures at least 99.97% of particles as small as .3 microns from that air, such as pollen, dust, smoke, animal dander and mold spores! Amazing! Talk about making my house feel super clean!

I love the LONG cord... might be able to vacuum the whole house. I also love the HEPA bags and also that it has a 7 year warranty. We so need a new vacuum... ours is about to die and our handheld has died so we are on the look out for new vacuums.

I LOVE the hard wood floor feature ... its one of those, 'Why didnt I think of that' moments! - the lightweight feature ... well, now I will have NO Excuse for not vacuuming my stairs. This could be good ... OR BAD.

Oh I need a new vacuum and this sounds awesome. I checked it out on their website and I like that it is lightweight (for my stairs) and that it can transition from carpet to hard flooring! Awesome! Would love to win this. :) Thanks for the giveaway!

I love the no crumb kick back! I have wood floors and that drives me crazy!!! What an awesome give away. P.S. My Hubby organized my pantry for my Christmas present and yours was the inspirations, thanks so much!

Love the light weight, strong suction and HEPA bag!The handheld looks awesome! Long cord, 5ft slinky hose and the great straps to hold it!.. +way more.I learned that the HEPA filter caputures A LOT of dirt and particles.. thats crazy! Its also one of their lightest (weight) vacuums.

I'm entering to win an @Oreck Magnesium vacuum and Ultimate handheld vac -- I love the Lightweight & Easy To Use feature. I will give to my son for his new home. I've "lent" him my Oreck but I want it back!

I like the HEPA inner filter feature. We get a lot of dust from DIYing and the fact we live on a farm in the county. It seems like everything is always dusty! I learned the HEPA filter will cut down on that.

I have had an Oreck for 8 years and love it! I liked checking out the Oreck Mangesium online- the feature I like most is that it can lay almost flat, which would allow me to get all those dust bunnies under the beds and cribs in our house. I also like that it has a 7 year warranty.

OH...You have sold me on the vacuum. I have never had an oreck and really wish to have one. I love that I would be able to go from room to room (carpet or hardwood) without having to replug it in. I friended oreck!~ sallym321@yahoo.com

I love the hepa filter feature. I hate to think of all that dust and dirt in the air. It captures at least 99.97% of particles as small as .3 microns from that air, such as pollen, dust, smoke, animal dander and mold spores. LOVE!

Ok...you crack me up!, but I also have the same weird things I want from my vacuum.. Especially the hard floor crumb kick back! Amazing. I would like to win this please, mama needs a brand new vacuum! I went to the sight and learned a ton, it weighing less than 8lbs definitely Impressed me. I also liked it on FB!

The thing I love the most about new Oreck is that it's lightweight! I also read that the motor has so much speed that it felt like it self-propelled on many surfaces. Which is awesome. The vacuum we have doesn't stand up on it's own anymore (kiddo broke it), it's super heave and hard to push across carpet.

I liked the saniseal system that locks dirt in the bag. Nothing worse than having the dirt you just vacuumed up getting back out when you go to dispose of the bag. Plus, the hepa filtration is very important to me because my husband has a dust allergy. Thanks for hosting this giveaway. Oreck's rock!

Just visited the site...and I LOVE that Quickswitch thingy that lets you go from carpet to hard flooring easily. Also...thought it was cool that it goes 7,000 RPM on high. :) Liked Oreck on facebook as well. I vacuum multiple times a week as well,and have YET to find a vacuum that really can make a girl happy!! :)

Wow!!! LOVE THIS!!! My husband and I still have the same vacuum we got when we got married almost 6 years ago. We have been vacuum shopping for the last two years and have never found the ONE. This vacuum fits every need we have. He would love the no kick-back feature and I love the light weight! LOVE YOUR BLOG and would love to win this! ~ Melissa, missmelissakay@yahoo.com

oh how i NEED this vacuum! I have 3 daughters with long hair. I have long hair. We have a long haired dog. We vacuum a lot at our house!!! I love the strong suction feature that this vacuum has. We need strong suction!! haha:) I love how this vacuum also lays flat so you don't have to move furniture. Who has the time? :) What a great giveaway!!!

WOW Three-year warranty! This is my favorite feature. The last two vacuums I bought I consider "disposable" models. Excited that a company actually believes their product will last.I learned that it is actually made of magnesium. :)

I'm loving that it is so lightweight! Just bought a new house and moved from a 700 square foot apartment and we are getting used to having more space to clean! This thing would be so easy to move from upstairs to downstairs. And if it actually cleans with one pass as the description mentions, I'd actually have to re-teach myself how to vacumm :) I always go over spots a few times - probably because my vacuum is my age!

Oh I am so HAPPY I became a New Follower before Christmas... Or I would have missed out on this SUPER fun giveaway!!! Okay the feature I most LOVE is the 5ft Slinky hose... and the Hepa Filter is great too!! :)

We have a lot of allergies in our house, so I love that it has the HEPA filter! I also love that it glides from carpets to bare floors. We have both in our house and this would make cleaning a lot easier!

I LOVE the fact that it is such a light weight vaccum with an extra long cord! Having to vacuum is such a chore for me without having to carry around extra weight and unplugging every couple of rooms! I am in love!!!

I am really diggin the Quickswitch feature! It's hard to have a broom for hard floors and a vacuum for carpet...having 1 tool for 2 types of floors would be heaven! I also liked learning that it's self-propelled :)Thanks for the chance!!audrea7777@yahoo.com

I would absolutely love to win this giveaway! I grew up with an Oreck vacuum and have always loved them. My favorite feature about this vacuum is how lightweight it is. Because I have rheumatoid arthritis, vacuuming can be extremely difficult and I would love to win this vacuum to make vacuuming much easier. What I learned about this vacuum is that it creates 102 mph of airflow for some great power!

Lovin' me the two speed function for the hardwood floors! I hate having to vacuum my carpets, put the vacuum away just to go get the broom and sweep the hardwood. Thanks H of S's for the great giveaway. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I absolutely LOVE that you can vacuum hardwood floors! That's seriously the worst when the crumbs go all over and you end up sweeping after vacuuming....ummm annoying. I was surprised to learn how flexible it is, how nice to be able to vacuum under things without having to move the furniture! This is a great giveaway!!!

Okay, there are a LOT of things that seem great about this, but I think the fact that it nearly lies flat (to vacuum under that pesky too-heavy-to-move coffee table) is the best feature of all!! Thanks!

I have a large shag rub that is a bear to vacuum! I just read about Oreck’s cylindrical wheel bearings design and I am thrilled to think about actually vacuuming with ease. I cannot imagine how awesome that would be. We are talking life changing here!

I have the Oreck XL21 and absolutely love it. I didn't think it was possible for Oreck to improve, but it looks like they put all the awesome features (light weight, long cord and hepa filter bags) into one place. I would love to win one of my own.

OHMAGOSH! This is by far my favorite giveaway that you've done! I need a new vacuum soooooooo bad! Especially one that doesn't have crumb kickback! That is so annoying. I don't know what it is, but crumbs multiply and replenish on my floor overnight. I am ALWAYS sweeping. My current vacuum has sucky suction....as in crappy, not very much and it weighs 500 lbs, I swear! I wanna win this more than anything I've ever entered before! Man, this little vacuum would be so loved at my house! ;)

This sounds like the most amazing vacuum ever! I love that it goes from carpet to floors with the 2 speed option! Its like getting a 2 for 1...and I just learned about the HEPA bags which sounds very amazing! AMAZING GIVEAWAY!Summerwinterdust00@yahoo.com

I NEED this!!!! Can you believe I actually had to go to the dr last week because when our old vac died and I threw it away, it was so heavy that I pulled something and thought I was having a heart attack the next day??! I KNOW - DUMB! I hate heavy vacs! I love that this one is lightweight and has the super long cord (a must!)Consider this my 1st entry, more than the mulberries at gmail dot com

I'm in need of a new vacuum, this would be perfect! I like that it's light weight and powerful enough to use on thick rugs and hard wood. And I like that it can easily lay flat to reach under tables ect. Katygriffithsatgmaildotcom

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned in some of my posts for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe my readers will enjoy. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255:

“Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”